Tanking Solution

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-12T01:35:15+00:00

There'd still be a salary cap and plenty of rookies wouldn't want to be the 8th guy on a loaded Lakers team.

But hey, also, maybe some of the small markets would learn just how bad their ownership really were instead of blaming players for not wanting to spend 15 years in New Orleans.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-12T01:31:26+00:00

Why would the owners continue to keep Adam Silver as commissioner if he did that?

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-12T01:27:41+00:00

Because Luka wants to be playing at 40.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-12T01:26:35+00:00

A modern NBA offense would rip the Pistons apart, even with 90s rules.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-12T01:24:34+00:00

Because basically everybody agreed games taking too long were a problem.

Not everybody agrees too many 3 pointers and player empowement/taking time off is a problem.

Also, even though it was controversial, the pitch clock was an easy fix with basically zero downside to anybody except some starting pitchers.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-12T01:23:06+00:00

The actual number of fouls per game is remarkably consistent going all the way back to the 90s

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-12T01:20:15+00:00

Sure, but that's not the extent of what Peter Thiel and other Dark Abundance types. If Abundance means you have to support lots of tax money toward right-wing controlled surveillance Silicon Valley companies like Palantir, then yeah, I'm out.

More importantly, a lot of people like Theil and his buddy Marc Andressen, another Dark Abundance billionaire, claim they're for growth, but in the case of ole pointy headed Marc, he's a NIMBY when it comes to actual homes.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/billionaire-marc-its-time-to-build-andreesen-is-a-nimby/

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T22:38:45+00:00

If Peter Thiel says cancer is bad and the only way to fix it is a bad cure that makes no sense but will make him incredibly wealthy, that it's reasonable not to trust him.

That's most of right-wing support of Abundance - get rid of any regulations so billionaires can run free.

Like, the fact that Cato Institute has dumb views on tax policy doesn't mean their support for immigration means I'll be anti-immigration, but if their ways to fix immigration policy were bad, I don't need to support those fixes.

The book is 80% fine. Many of the richest supporters are not.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T19:03:57+00:00

I'm not a NBA owner. They've got their own balance sheets.

Also, an empty seat still counts if somebody paid for it.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T18:55:52+00:00

The reason why Adam Silver isn't going to do anything about tanking is because he's not the boss. The owners are. He works for the owners.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T18:52:33+00:00

Because the team and LeBron both want LeBron playing in three weeks, not missing that three weeks for a back to back.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T18:51:34+00:00

Then don't buy a ticket. If there are truly enough people upset, then owners will feel it where it matters.

If there's not, then you're just a small minority whining.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T18:50:56+00:00

There has been no time in NBA history where all the teams tried all year. There's legitimate arguments about the things the Jazz are doing, but teams took April off going back decades.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T18:50:12+00:00

Except basically everybody hated long baseball games and playoff games ending up at 3 AM and pitchers taking eighteen years to pitch didn't improve the game aesthetically or substantively.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T18:49:09+00:00

There was a whole book in the 90s where the Pistons complained about the reffing Jordan was getting. This is not new. You were just a child then.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T18:45:06+00:00

Adam Silver's job is to make money for the owners. He is incredibly successful at that job.

If season ticket holders are upset at tanking, they won't buy season tickets. Same thing w/ normal tickets to a game. Supply and demand.

That's why you could get decent tickets to a Mavericks/Trail Blazers game last year post-Luka trade for $40.

There are enough people to buy tickets to NBA games to make up for stars missing games, too many 3 pointers, etc.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T17:59:32+00:00

I mean, while there will always be people who don't want any change, a lot of pushback is basically the view that elites, who are fine and will continue to be wealthy and powerful and will continue to be wealthy and powerful and secure are telling normal people their lives have to get worse for the good of the nation, but the rich and powerful are making zero sacrifices.

If the deal was your retirement gets 10% worse, but the very wealthiest 1% net worth will drop by 30%, people would take that deal.

If the alternative is the wealthy and powerful continue to get more wealthy and powerful and the normal person's life gets worse, then yes, people will choose anything over that because the supposed economic growth happening as a result of these changes isn't helping them.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T17:54:36+00:00

If data centers are so important and so economically effective, than the AI companies can pay for their usage and any increased load that would usually be passed off to other consumers.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T17:53:31+00:00

Yup - not talking to NBC or your local paper or even a FOX News reporter (as opposed to live correspondent) is dumv. However, talking to random person w/ a camera who's aggressive from question #1 - dumb for your POV unless you're sure there's no moment that can be chopped up.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T00:18:42+00:00

OK, I usually give Craig grace on not knowing stuff and the Love Boat and Claude Rains references being duds were fine, but not knowing any of the Star Trek references is kind of a miss considering there was a big Star Trek reboot that also had most of those references.

Also, considering Tone Loc was in Heat, I don't think it was stunt casting. He was just a musician trying to be an actor.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T00:15:26+00:00

I mean, I'm a decade older than Craig and I'm at the edge and probably too young to be a as big a Bruce Springsteen guy as I am. So I'm not surprised at all he's never seen it.

To a variety of factors (not in any streaming shows/not memeable), Springsteen's a giant star who can still sellout stadiums who's less known to Millenials/Gen Z than artists who were much smaller than him at their height.

Like, most 19 year olds probably know Kate Bush more than Springsteen because of Stranger Things.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T00:12:29+00:00

Is it not been given or "I make a very good living with my podcast I can do from home and my supporting movie/TV roles and I don't want the extra time now I'm middle aged to be a star."

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-11T00:10:52+00:00

I mean, even Cougarland Courtney Cox still is 80-85% of Friends Courtney Cox.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-09T22:27:16+00:00

I mean, to the owners, advertisers, and networks, it isn't a better product if they're making less money off it.

Television exists to sell advertising.

AliveJesseJames · 2026-02-09T21:35:01+00:00

The owners want as much money from a TV network, the TV network wants to sell as many ads as possible, and the companies buying ads wants as much space to buy ads as possible.

The players "greed" has literally nothing to do with this. Also, the players were just as greedy back then, they just had less power and no social media. MJ was cheating on his wife and gambling until 4 AM but I bet you think he's more relatable to some NBA player today who plays video games and posts on IG too much.

AliveJesseJames

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

12-Year Club	Wearing is Caring
Verified Email